My employer provides a 50% match up to the 401k limit. So this year they throw in 11,250 since the limit is 22,500. They do that with regular or Roth 401k so my coworker takes Roth to get after tax matching (11250 more in a Roth is better than in a regular).
I see numbers like 4% or 7% and I don’t understand what those could mean.
All the
Bro, you comin’ in here talking like you got a pension to a bunch of folks who barely get scraps.
A 7% match usually means that the employer matches up to 7% of base salary for 401k contributions, so to get $11250 matching their $11250, they’d have to make $161k. Someone with 4% would have to be making $281k to get what you do. And even then, 75% match up to 7% of salary means that they can never get $11250 of free money from the man no matter how much they make. People with that deal will cap out at $9642 in extra money, no matter how much they make.
You got a good gig. Only downside is that it’s a bit of a golden handcuff in that you probably won’t be able to find something like that if you want to move on.
Wow. The best i ever heard was 100% up to 6%. That is 10% full match on $110,000 salary.
Chipsahoy is Shipsahoy.
My company (big Pharma) gives me 5% straight up no matter what I do and then matches another 5% if I put in 7%. So I put in 7% and get 10% for a total of 17%. This generosity is pretty comparable to other companies in the industry at least in New Jersey area (which is most of the industry)
Matt Levine - so good!
There are also criminal charges. Always the call options.
But come on! This was not some random financial windfall for Pfizer; this was a Covid treatment. Be a little more creative! On Nov. 5, 2021, Pfizer announced this trial result and its stock went up 11%. That day, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.’s stock was up 8%. Carnival Corp. was up 9%. Delta Air Lines Inc. was up 8%. Wynn Resorts Ltd. was up 6%. Zoom Video Communications Inc. was down 6%. “A game-changing Covid treatment will be good for the stocks of cruise-ship companies, airlines and casinos and bad for work-from-home stocks” was about as obvious a thesis as “a game-changing Covid treatment will be good for the stock of the company that discovers it”; certainly I was banging on about this in 2020 and 2021. If you happened to know about that game-changing result a day in advance, because you worked for Pfizer and your boss told you the results, insider trading in short-term out-of-the-money call options in your own personal account is the most direct way to profit from the news, sure, but also the most direct way to get caught.
Oh but if you traded Royal Caribbean options! If you bought a bunch of Delta calls and hedged by selling a bunch of Zoom calls! That would be interesting:
- It would work. You could reasonably have predicted how those stocks would move on the Paxlovid news, and in fact they did move that way.
- It might not be illegal? We have talked a lotabout “shadow trading,” when employees of one company use news that they learn about that company to trade other stocks that will move in predictable ways on their company’s news. The SEC doesn’t like it, and brought one notable shadow-trading case in 2021, but the law is less clear here than it is when you trade your own company’s stock.[[2]](file:///private/var/containers/Bundle/Application/ED71D601-A6FB-414C-8CD3-6C3A551B77CB/Gmail.app/#m_-5560989135160998686_footnote-2) (Not legal advice!)
- They might not catch you: “Check for Pfizer employees who traded Pfizer call options right before Pfizer announced its biggest news in years” is a no-brainer for the SEC; “check for Pfizer employees who traded Wynn Resorts call options right before Pfizer announced its biggest news in years” is not as obvious. (Not crime-detection-avoidance advice!)
- If they did catch you and bring a case, I would be more impressed by your gumption, and have more fun writing about it. (Not … I mean, I don’t want to encourage you to do crimes. But conditional on you doing crimes, I do want to encourage you to do clever, interesting crimes.)
I know this is a bigtime “it depends”, but the wife got a new job and is being offered a long term disability insurance buy-up that will essentially go from 5k/mo to 10k/mo in the event of full disability. Cost is like 160/year.
Obviously there are a ton of variables including age, health, whether you’re a billionaire and whatnot, but just in general assuming average folks is this a scam or something to consider? Odds of needing it are super small (hopefully), but the cost is pretty negligible which gives me pause and actually consider it instead of assuming it’s like any other warranty and just a scam that makes them money.
If your wife couldn’t work for, say, a year, would $5k/mo plus your salary be enough to cover your expenses, or at least enough that you wouldn’t be forced to move? I can’t see paying more money for more coverage than it’d take to get us through a scenario like that, but that’s my own level of risk tolerance. One other sanity check, does her company tell you how much they pay for a given benefit? At least some do, and so maybe you can see how much it’s costing them for the $5k level, and you can compare that to what it costs you to double that coverage. If the company pays less than or equal to what it’d take to double your coverage, then selling the extra coverage is almost certainly a cash grab, but if it’s a fair bit less, then maybe?
Why would you assume that disability insurance is a scam? Would do you think happens to the bills and debts of people who become temporarily or permanently disabled?
I don’t think in general disability insurance is a scam, probably wasn’t elegant in my wording. I am skeptical that the supplemental portion has a ton of vig for the provider, and was wondering it was more like buying the extended warranty on your washing machine, or whether this is like a yeah no brainer take the sick benefit your glorious company is gifting you.
Like how I’ve come to accept that the whole life insurance policy I got sold in my 20s was a “scam”. Probably too hash of a word tho.
It’s also important to note that most policies cap the payout at 60-80% of normal earnings, so paying premiums for even higher payouts is likely just throwing money away.
Oh, I didn’t know that. Thanks.
Just make sure anything for disability is paid with after tax dollars. Then the benefit is not taxed. Not sure if the employer pays the whole thing how it works.
In some cases with employer offered disability I think the lower default “free” level of coverage is the “scam” so that people who care and pay attention get really good coverage by paying the little extra and they save money giving the rest really shitty coverage. Not sure this sounds like case for you but I don’t think it’s accurate to think the “upgrade” is inherently a rip off
I think this is part of the benefit of paying the extra annual after tax dollars for the better plan, it may make the entire benefit considered post tax. (I’m not an expert on this so may be wrong)
As long as it’s a reputable company it’s not a scam.
Disability coverage for doctors is super important. We frequently get specialized policies that stipulate that cover us if we can work in our specialty, not just work generally. This is important as theoretically I could do a job that doesn’t require me to do procedures like bone reductions or intubations, but I’m not board certified in those things.
My mom is currently on disability for a perfectly awful neuromuscular disorder that’s really coming in handy as well
Yeah mine is capped at 50% even.
Thanks for the perspective, friendos.
I mean it’s landlord bullshit but toxic mold isn’t a thing and the guy still owes money on the lease.
Edit: ohhh that lease fee. Nvm that’s shitty
I still fondly remember suing my old landlord, beating their lawyer in court, and having the judge give their lawyer a proper dressing down. Good times!
Seems like this landlord could be headed to a similar fate.